The University of Ottawa Israeli Awareness Committee (IAC) blocked a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) resolution presented by the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO). The BDS movement is a call to action from Palestinians seeking justice and equality, while the IAC is a pro-Israel lobby group which works with the Israeli Embassy and others to promote the Israeli government to students.

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The IAC's depiction of itself as the voice of all Jewish students creates a monolithic narrative of Jewishness, which conflates Judaism and Zionism. Zionism is a political ideology which advocates for Israel to remain an exclusionary society, one that places the maintenance of ethno-nationalism over the freedom and basic rights of Palestinians.

As white supremacy continues to grow in North America, we need to support and listen to marginalized communities and oppose all forms of racism, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Arab, anti-Indigenous, and anti-Black racism. Portraying the struggle for liberation in Israel-Palestine as anti-Semitic obscures the rise of real anti-Semitism on the American and Canadian right, as well as the basis of solidarity with communities who face systemic oppression.